Network Switch UPS: Fixing a Nagging Frustration
Do you live in an area that has power outages more often than you’d like? I do. Our power lines are above ground and we have lots of trees in the neighborhood. …
How To
How to Make a Smart Home Test Bench
Sometimes we DIY smart home people install smart devices and they don’t work. At first, we scratch our heads wondering what went wrong. Did I install it wrong? Is there a loose …
MQTT With Home Assistant Using Docker & Mosquitto
MQTT is a great protocol to have in your automation arsenal. I previously wrote a similar article about using the Toke Mosquitto container with Home Assistant and Docker. I have since switched …
BroadLink RM4 Mini: Smart Home Infrared Control
It’s great to have devices in your smart home that you can control over your network or with a smart home/IoT-designed protocol like MQTT, Z-Wave, or Zigbee. But what about the devices …
Ring Mailbox Sensor Review: Best For Long Range?
Mail theft is a growing problem in many neighborhoods, including mine. I have a locking box and thieves have still broken into my mailbox. I’ve long wanted to use a mailbox sensor …
Smart Home Dimming with The Shelly Dimmer 2
Background on my use case I’ve been a fan of TP-Link (Kasa) smart home products for a while. They are inexpensive, allow local control, and work well. A couple of things happened …
DIY Garage Door Opener w/ Security+ 2.0 GDOs
A little while back I wrote an article about how to turn your dumb garage door opener into a smart one for just $15 using a Shelly 1 relay. This worked great …